He Brought You Flowers, I Brought You Blood
by Kede Diem
Summary: Kamiya Kaoru is a foster child in modern Japan, Battousai is and assassin who just hit her school. She lives for her dreams, he lives for bloodlust. Fate will bring them together. Love will tear them apart. Rated M for language, violence, sex, etc.
1. Hi

Hey people. Ok, I know, I know, I've got a ton of other projects going on, but I got this idea and next thing I knew I had a chapter. Ha ha. Imagine that. Anyways, this should end up interesing so please! R&R!!!! You know, someday my stories will be good enough that I won't have to beg people to leave reviews, but I'm not there yet, so tell me what you think. I'll update sooner if you do! So yeah. This will be a dark romance and I know this chapter is short but bare with me. It's merely an introduction. Ha ha. Wierd name for a chapter, I know. But read on and you shall see why!!!

Disclaimer: I hardly ever do these, but just for the say, I do not own Rurouni Kenshin. If I did, I would be a rich bitch bouncing off the clouds. Unfortunately, I'm not that cool. So just read it and we'll be homies, yeah...

He Brought You Flowers, I Brought You Blood

Chapter One

Hi

A single tear fell from the sky, diving through the atomosphere, no purpose in mind at all. It fell and fell at an endlessly increasing pace, until it hit. The drop lengthened at gravity drew it down the rusty iron bar, till a part of it hit earth, where the drop would repeat the cycle over again. The liquid was weak and powerless, too pathetic to fight its wretched fate of this cursed routine. It was part of the world. Part of life. Part of the plague that water really is.

Heavy eyelids fought to open to sound of heavy precipitation. They groggily made it about a fifth of the way, then gave up and closed again. The brain retreated again to its personal land of dreams, bidding the presence of its spectacular creations, hallucinations of a world it could never have.

The sound of rain suddenly became replaced with that of a fist pounding on a door.

"Kamiya!" a voice screeched. :Up! You have only fifteen minutes!"

Kaoru forced her blue eyes open, cursing under her breath as she pushed herself up. Damn, she hated that woman. Did she not know how to wake someone up gentally? The sixteen year old swung a leg to the side of the bed, focusing her energy in her palms to push herself out of the comfort, stumbling as she finally stood. She collected her balance, and proceded to staring around at the piles of clothes towards the sides of the room. She spotted her uniform and hobbled over to it. Why in hell did her feet hurt so much? She pushed the thought to the back of her mind as she dressed.

By the time she did her hair and got her things together, there was no time for breakfast. Takaya-san, her overly busy foster mother, shoved a box lunch in her face and shewed her out the door. Kaoru turned around in time to catch the old umbrella the woman carelessly swung at her. Rolling her eyes, she started for the school. The umbrella was inadequate, what with a huge hole at one end and the other end collapsing. She checked her watch, rolled her eyes and picked up her feet, as cars passed her with mothers driving their teenagers to the school. Kaoru still had two miles to go.

She had ran the last mile, but she had still ended up being ten minutes late. She walked into the classroom and took her seat. The sensei glared at her profoundly. It didn't bother Kaoru whatsoever. This was part of her daily routine.

Kaoru made her way to a vacant table at lunch. Her class seemed so melancholy due to the rain. Everyone's quiet and sober attitudes irratated her and she made a point to stare out the window rather than at anyone else. She watched the cars skid through the sopping streets, wishing she had a ride for the way home. She watched as people ran for taxi's, wathed as people walked down the sidewalk, their hand shaking as they brought their cigarette to their lips. Kaoru hated the cold. Her room at the foster home was constantly freezing, and the walks to and from school were pure hell. Time and time again she had complained to Takaya-san about this, but her complaints had gained her nothing. The school uniform being so short didn't help a thing. She would sit and grit her teeth when the girls in her class would talk about how ugly other school's uniforms were and how lucky they were to have such cute ones. They got to ride to and from school. Even in the worst snowstorms, Kaoru had to walk.

Suddenly, something outside caught Kaoru's eye. Towards an alley across the street to the left, almost out of her sight, was a man, leaning against the wall, smoking. She of course saw several other men doing the same thing everyday, but none had such long, radiant, pheonix colored hair. He was dressed in black sweats with something hanging from his side. His face was down, and Kaoru tilted her head with curiosity. She whispered.

"Hello."

She had no purpose in whispering it, mainly just thoughts of who he could be, but she never expected what the man did next.

Kaoru's eyes widened as the man slowly raised his head, turning it in her direction. And all in an instant, his eyes met hers. His eyes... they couldn't be real! So amber and bright. So...

Murderous...

And very coldly, the man smirked at her, and she could've sworn he mouthed the word "hi".

Kaoru's glance snapped back to the rest of the class, where all seemed as depressing as ever. She returned her gaze to it's previous place, but... the man was...

Gone.

Before Kaoru could think things over, the bell rang, signifying that lunch was over.

Kaoru went through the rest of the day in somewhat of a trance. When the day was finally over, the man had completely left her mind, as she grabbed the broken umbrella, sighing as she began her rountine walk home. The winds had picked up and it was bitter, bitter cold. Kaoru pictured herself collapsing from frostbite, catching pneumonia, and being delivered as a corpse to Takaya-san's doorstep. She somehow wondered if it would be painful, or if the temperature would freeze her nerves. She thrust the thoughts away as she forced each step.

That night, Kaoru spent hours on her homework, hating every second of it. However, she knew Takaya-san, who had been checking in every ten minutes, would not let her sleep until every bit of it was done. At one a.m., she was completely exhausted, yet still had two more essays and another math worksheet. After Takaya-san denying her plea's for sleep, she started on them. By a little after two-thirty, her work was complete. She fell into bed, and passed out within a minute.

The next morning, Kaoru got out of bed five minutes later. Takaya-san was furious. Kaoru zoned her out as she hobbles out the door, her feet killing her. She opened the umbrella and made her way towards the school. If only she had money, she thought to herself. She wanted so bad for a taxi... for anything! It was so cold, she could barely move, and her teeth hurt from chattering.

Kaoru was about a mile from the school when she started to hear the sirens. At first she thought nothing of it, but the closer she got to the school, the louder the sirens got. When she got to the school, she was shocked to see five squad cars, and ambulence, and a ton of cops everywhere in front of the school. She looked around, trying to figure out what happened. There was a huge crowd, full of people whispering. She scouted out the student body president and ran up to him.

"Tite-sempei!"

Her class mate looked over. He was so pale he looked dead. "Kamiya."

"What in hell happened?" she asked, a sick feeling in her gut.

Tite shook his head. "There was a... a student c-councel meeting, you see... we came... we came early, you see..."

"Sempei please, I just want to know what happened." Kaoru had never prided herself on being patient.

Tite shook his head as his voice went high pitched. "There... there was bl... there was blood... everywhere..."

Kaoru's eyes widened. "Blood?"

Tite looked at her. "Dead," he whispered. "He was dead. No... he had been slaughtered... as if someone thought," he swallowed. "He was an animal."

Kaoru fought the urge to puke. "Who?"

Tite shook his head. "Haruka-sensei."

Kaoru gasped. Haruka-sensei was the school librarian. He was a cheerful young man. Nobody had anything against him. Kaoru had been in the library alone with him on several occasions, and he was always appropriate with her. Everyone liked Haruka-sensei.

Suddenly, the principle came on the outside intercom, announcing the school would be closed for the day. Kaoru turned to leave and froze.

There, at the alley across the street to the left, was the amber eyed man from the day before. He looked up at her, nothing in his eyes but pure hate and...

Victory?

Kaoru turned back. She spotted Tite stepping into a car. She ran over.

"Sempei!"

Tite turned around. Kaoru looked at him desperately.

"Excuse me, I'm so sorry, but the foster house is three miles from here, and what with what's happened, I really don't want to walk..." she thought of how stupid it sounded and kicked herself.

Tite tried to smile. "Get on in."

Kaoru let out a breath of relief. "Domo... thankyou so much.

When Kaoru looked back towards the alley again, the man was gone.

Chapter One

End

People I will love you forever! Review review!!!


	2. The Forgotten

Yay!!! Another chapter, ha ha ha. We shall set it to five reviews before I write another chapter, ok? So review review review please!!!

Speaking of reviews...

Aniwolf- I'm glad you like the length! Thanks for the review!

gabyhyatt- Glad you liked it!

Ellavv31- Here you go! Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

grahamsmoon- I love constructive criticism! Thankyou so much! Please tell me if I improved any on this chapter.

fantasy4luvr- Here you go!

Anyways, enough talk. Here's the chapter!

He Brought You Flowers, I Brought You Blood

Chapter Two

The Forgotten

Kaoru spent the next few days at home, refusing to attend the school. This of course infuriated Takaya-san, and these days were full of screeching angry arguments, and by the fourth day, Kaoru forfeited her argument and made her way to the school, wishing the foster man would just drop dead.

By the time Kaoru got to the school, she was sure she was sick. She was actually on time, and she knocked on her desk for disrupting the cycle, just in case. It was as if there was a smog of fear over the classroom, even for the teacher. At lunch, people were jittery, their eyes darting nervously at their surroundings, as if some unknown force would sneak up on them at any time.

Inside, Kaoru struggled to sort out her tangled thoughts. Of all people that would be murdered at her school, Haruka-sensei wouldn't have even been on the list. Sure, their were a few rebelleous delinquents and what not, but even they wouldn't deserve what the poor librarian went through. Kaoru shivered as she pictured what he must have looked like, how his eyes must have captured fear. But... who could have done that to him? Tite had told her that he had been killed by several precise and expertly executed cuts to several vital areas. That itself made Kaoru's blood run cold. The murderer knew what they were doing. The police had no suspects at all. The whole thing was a horrifying mess.

And the little thing that kept nagging at Kaoru was the amber eyed man.

When school was out, cars filled the street to pick up students. No one lingered at the school. After school clubs had been councelled. No one went anywhere alone.

All this, and Kaoru still had to walk home. Her umbrella was getting worse, and she doubted it would make it through the winter. Her hands felt frozen to the old metal handle as she treaded through the soaked concrete streets. Her destination seemed impossible, and hardly worth it at that fostter hell.

Kaoru sighed and silently cursed herself. The foster home wasn't nearly as comfortable as many of her classmate's homes were, but it was a huge improvement from what she had come from. It wasn't right to complain.

She had about a mile and a half to go when the wind blew her umbrella inside out.

"Ugh, this thing's useless,"she muttered.

"Better than nothing," came a cold voice from behind her.

Kaoru froze, debating on whether or not she should turn. She already had a pretty good idea who it was.

She fought her fear and faced the speaker.

"It was you, wasn't it?" She asked with a shaky voice.

The amber eyed man was leaning against a brick fence, drenched in shadows, eying her dangerously. He slightly raised his chin.

"I would never be so careless, girl."

"Really?" Her eyes moved to his waist. "Than why is it you carry a sword? I don't think it's for chopping lettuce. You killed him, didn't you?"

To Kaoru's surprise, the man straightened and walked over to her. "I am not one to leave such obvious and ugly messes out of my assignments."

"Well I haven't seen anyone else carring one of those around town," Kaoru said, taking a step back.

The man smiled. "And the rest of the town hasn't seen even what you have, Kamiya Kaoru. Though I am an assassin, I have not come here to kill anyone," Kaoru sensed irration in his voice. The man leaned towards her. "...Yet."

"So you didn't kill him?"

The mans simple smile turned into a smirk. "Why in hell would I be sent after such a small target?"

Kaoru bit her lip. "Do you know why he was murdered?"

The man sighed. "Someone is trying to rial up the town before my job is done. And I think I know who..."

Suddenly, something occured to Kaoru. "Why in hell are you telling me this?"

This time, he laughed. Kaoru was slightly taken aback. The man calmed down into her eyes.

"You really don't remember me, do you Kaoru?"

Kaoru froze. Remember? She was pretty sure she would be able to remember a man like him. Yet he knew her name... Damn it to hell, who was he? Kaoru stared at him. She became aware that there was something vaguely familiar about him, but she simply couldn't place. Of course, she had gone through so many hypnotic and shock treatments that she couldn't remember half of her life anyway.

"I''m sorry," she said rather coldly. "My memory has been altered with, and if we have met, I do not remember it." She looked into his eyes. "Perhaps a name will help?"

The man shook his head. "I cannot give you my real name."

Now Kaoru was irritated. "How about a nickname than?"

This time he smiled. "Hitokiri Battousai."

_Great_, Kaoru thought to herself. _I'm dealing with an assassin._ "Battousai, huh? Ok. Even if you did know me, why in hell are you talking to me?"

Battousai sighed. "I'm here to kill someone... but I've also been ordered to watch over you."

Kaoru thought she would fall on her face. "What? OK, I' hate to break it to you, but I'm no one to protect. Hell, I live in a foster home in a cold room and walk three miles to school everyday! I'm no princess, Battousai. Why in hell would you have to protect me."

This time, the assassin just stared at her sadly for a very long time. At last, he sighed. "They really did fuck with your brain, didn't they ?"

At first Kaoru was shocked, but than answered. "I wouldn't know, would I?"

Battousai sighed. He pulled out an umbrella and handed it to her.

"Be careful on the way home."

Kaoru looked down at it. "But won't you be following me?"

When no answer came, Kaoru looked up to find that the man had disappeared.

Chapter Two

End

Why so short again? Oh well, it's the beginning, it shall be forgiven. Please review!


	3. Kenshin

Well, it took me longer than I wanted it to, and it was shorter than I intended it to be, however, it is here. So love me! Lets see, eight people reviewed this time. Yay!!! I love you all! Lets make it eight reviews before I update again. Don't worry, I'll cease this rediculous scheme after ten reviews per chapter starts hitting.

Aw, reviews...

happyloveygirl: You like it? Yay! The story progresses. Enjoy!

Ohagi-chan: Next time has come! Enjoy!

notjustagirltoo: Trust me, he's going to get VERY badass as this story progresses, although, he does show a soft side in this chapter. Believe me, he will be... Battousai, heh heh heh.

grahamsmoon: This plot will unfold. Patience is the key. Now, why don't I have that... T.T

wjm: You love it? Yay! Sorry I took longer... I feel bad. I'll try harder!

MidnightWolfe: Your review made me so happy. I will try to update as soon as I can!

firevixen73: I love your pen name... ahem, here you go!

Ellavv31: And so the plot thickens even more!!! Please enjoy.

Hm... I think from now on I'll move reguards to the reviewers at the end of the chapter, only because I sense it may be tedious for so many readers to have so much listed before the chapter. However, I still feel it is important to acknowledge reviewers. If reviews pick up to more than twenty per chapter, I will only answer certain questions that are appropriate for a writer to answer, and openly thank reviewers.

Why the hell do I talk so much? Sorry. Here's the chapter.

He Brought You Flowers, I Brought You Blood

Chapter Three

Kenshin

Over two weeks had passed since Kaoru's confrontation with the Battousai. Her school had started to settle from the incident, which Kaoru of course saw as a mistake. She at one point had debated on whether or not to inform the authorities about Battousai. In the end, she had definitely decided against the idea, especially when possible consequences came to mind. Besides, she didn't have the courage to do it.

Life at the foster house continued to be a living hell. Takaya-san seemed to hate Kaoru with a passion, and for reasons completely unknown to the high school girl. There were a number of children in the house, so at times Kaoru would simply assume the woman was just overwhelmed. But at other times, Kaoru was sure that there was no reason, and that the woman was just cruel and nothing else. Of course, it was unnatural for

her to think this way, so she was constantly telling herself she herself must be inadequate. She was accustomed to thinking in that way.

Kaoru was taking notes in English, thinking to herself that she would love to own a car, when the teacher walked up to her.

"Kamiya," he barked. "Translate sentence six immediately."

Kaoru was startled. He seemed rather harsh, and she had done nothing wrong at all. Nevertheless, she stood.

"They… are not here. They… have gone out." She looked at Suzaki-sensei for approval. He glared at her.

"Pauses," he said bitterly. "Please meat me after class, Kamiya."

Kaoru's cheeks burned at she lowered into her seat. She thought she had done alright, if not well. She had done better than many students did. She did not understand.

For the rest of class, all Kaoru could do was try to figure out what she had done. She could think of nothing, and as always, the bell eventually rang. Kaoru waited for the rest of the class to leave, and than she made her way to the front of the classroom. Her sensei stood up.

"You're a wretched bitch, you know that?" he spat at her. Kaoru took a step back. What was going on? She hadn't done anything! She was pretty sure a teacher wasn't even allowed to speak to a student like this. She immediately bowed, more out of habit than anything.

"Gomen nasai, sensei," she said in a soft voice. "I will study harder."

The teacher smirked. "Really? Not before I turn you in and gain the reward."

Kaoru snapped up. "What? Sensei, what have I done?"

The man smirked. "Nothing at all, Miss Kamiya. But you will fit the description nicely."

In a flash, Kaoru was on the floor with the teacher on top of her, his left hand sliding up her skirt.

"Sensei!" she gasped. "Stop!"

But her pleas did her no good, as his hand ventured further and further.

"What are you doing?" Kaoru cried.

The teacher smiled. "I know what you know. I have to shut you… uh!"

Kaoru forced her eyes up and gasped.

The sensei had a blade to his neck.

"Get your hand out of there."

The voice made Kaoru's blood run cold, and he removed his hand.

"Now get off of her. Now."

The teacher obeyed, and Kaoru could clearly see the Battousai.

"Now, go down to the faculty room. And you don't even know me."

The sensei nodded and ran out.

Battousai helped Kaoru up. "Wait here." And he walked out.

Kaoru's legs were shaking as she made her way to the wall. There, she collapsed, bursting out in tears.

By the time Battousai had returned, the sky was dark. Kaoru was still shaking as he stood over her.

"What did you do?" Kaoru whispered.

Battousai shook his head. "I did what was necessary. You don't really want to know, do you?"

Kaoru thought about it for a minute, and then shook her head. "I really don't. But I think I already do." There was no way that man would still be alive.

Battousai sat next to her. "What he did was unexpected," he said. "I'm sorry I did not react faster."

Kaoru looked over at him. "How do you know me?" she asked.

Battousai took a deep breath. "Do you remember anything Kaoru?"

Kaoru strained, but nothing came to mind. She sadly shook her head. "I'm sorry. I wish I could."

Battousai bit his lip. "How about… Himura. You remember that?"

Slowly, Kaoru raised her head. "Is there a Kenshin with that name?"

Battousai smiled and nodded. Kaoru looked at him and squinted her eyes. "That's… you, isn't it?" She tried to gain more of a picture, but nothing more came to mind. She shrugged. "I think I like Kenshin better. I can't remember anything else." She looked down once more, regaining her depression.

Kenshin looked down as well. "I had no choice, Kaoru. I had to kill him. You understand that, don't you?"

Kaoru didn't. She said nothing in return.

Several minutes passed, and Kaoru raised her head. "I have to go back."

Kenshin stood. "Would you be home by now?"

Kaoru thought about it. "If I had to meet with a teacher, I would be arriving around this time."

Without a word, Kenshin held out his hand. Kaoru reached out, and he handed her a little bit of money. Kaoru looked up, curious.

"A cab will be waiting for you outside," and he walked out, leaving the school girl alone.

Takaya-san was furious. "Why in hell are you so late, girl?"

Kaoru ignored her and walked inside, blocking out the continuation of harsh words. Her day had been dark, and her mind was troubled with all that she could not remember. She debated on her course of action, and concluded on staying with her routine. She was, however, convinced that this man she now knew as Kenshin was not such a bad person. In fact, she actually looked forward to seeing him again.


	4. The Art of Running Away

Ok, it took me awhile, but I am back! Sorry I took so long. Anyways, to the reviews…

happyloveygirl: OMG, you are so cute!!! I hope you enjoy this chapter!!!

Jasmine Battousai: I tried to make this one better... what do you think?

lovelylady2all: And I say unto you, the wait is over!

DeepThoughtsX: Ha ha, well, it would be pretty dumb if I was anti-smoker when I myself smoke. Anyways, you gave me awesome advice! To tell you the truth, I had no idea my anonymous review thing was turned off. Shows you how smart I am. Anyways, ever since I first saw Battousai in action (damn that was a long time ago), I have thought, "He should be wearing black," and smoking… well, hot guys always look hotter to me when they're smoking. Anyways, tell me how you like this chapter, ok?

Kitsune Kida: Thank you so much for reviewing. Yeah, reviews, good or bad, are where the author gains feedback and idea's, along with praise. I mean Broken Pieces by Linay probably got more reviews than days I have lived in my life, however it's probably the best fic I have ever read. That aside, I am so happy you liked this one. It's not in an uncommon category, so I am so happy that you chose to read this one.

Ok, enough of me blabbing.

He Brought You Flowers, I Brought You Blood

Chapter Four

The Art of Running Away, Part I

It took the authorities a total of three days to find the perverted teachers corpse. Upon it's finding, new and more powerful authorities were coming into the picture, and students could no longer enter the school without being searched by the recently hired security. Cops were everywhere, and the city found itself living in fear.

Kaoru herself had actually started to find herself growing used to this tedious routine. Her situation was steadily worsening, however she walked through time numbly, as if it was nothing but a random and unusual dream.

Occasionally she would think of Kenshin the Battousai, wondering if he was present, watching her footsteps, a constant unseen shadow, perhaps being covered by her own. But as time would have it, day after day passed, and still she heard nothing from him, neither saw him at all.

As she stepped into winter vacation, she inwardly groaned. She wondered if she would honestly survive two weeks with Takaya-san. The foster mother had become more and more high-strung. Kaoru could no longer stand to be in the same room with her nauseating authority longer than a few minutes. Dinner had become routine of disaster, ending with Kaoru and Takaya-san screaming at each other while the children either left the room or, if they were younger, burst into fits of wailing and sobbing.

Kaoru was never allowed to leave the wretched house unless she was going to school. It made no sense, whereas the next oldest child in the house, Yahiko, who was thirteen, went out whenever and did whatever he pleased. Kaoru thought perhaps it was because he was a boy, but that understanding thought disappeared over time. She wished she was eighteen.

Kaoru woke up the first morning of her vacation to Takaya-san's screeching voice, commanding her to fix breakfast. Kaoru was much too tired to argue, and so she slugged into the kitchen. Yahiko was sitting at the table, reading a manga.

"Morning," he said.

Kaoru looked over at him. Despite her jealousy, she found herself quite fond of him."Omelet's ok?"

The boy yawned. "Sure." He looked up at her. "If you want, I can bring you back some cigarettes."

Kaoru gave him a concerned look. "I don't smoke, Yahiko. And you shouldn't either."

The boy shrugged. "It'll be awhile before it does me any harm."

Kaoru wasn't so sure about that. However, the mention of cigarettes reminded her of Kenshin, and his smell of tobacco. Kaoru didn't support smoking, however, the fact that Kenshin did more attracted her than disgusted her. She really didn't know why. She turned away from Yahiko so he wouldn't see her blush.

Kaoru spent most of the day doing any work her foster mother could think of. After the kids were in bed, she collapsed in her own, looking forward to a long nights sleep.

Her plans were shattered at around two in the morning. Kaoru was shaken awake. She groggily forced her eyes open and bid them to adjust. She gasped.

"Kenshin?"

"Shh," he snapped, handing her a small jet black backpack. "I'll explain later. Pack only what you absolutely need. You have five minutes." And without another word he disappeared.

Kaoru looked around, confused and shocked. She slowly lifted herself out of the bed and dressed, tossing two extra sets of clothes into the bag, along with some toiletries. She snuck out of her room and made her way to the bathroom, grabbing more toiletries. As she turned to leave, she found herself facing…

"Yahiko?" she hissed. "What are you doing?"

Yahiko scratched his head. "I heard something in…" his voice froze as his eyes locked on a figure behind Kaoru.

Kaoru turned again. It was Kenshin, just as she had suspected. The Battousai sighed.

"This kid has seen me here. He has to come with us."

Yahiko looked at Kaoru, shock painted on is face. "You're leaving?"

Kaoru looked strained. "Apparently we both are."

Yahiko didn't like this idea. "Do I have a choice?" he asked irritably.

Kenshin nodded. Either you come or I'll have to kill you." He smirked. "But I would appreciate it if you'd make your decision quickly."

Anger built up in Yahiko. "What the hell is going on? And who the hell are you?!"

Kenshin gave Kaoru a warning glance. Fear flashed in Kaoru's eyes.

"Please Yahiko! We need to go! I'll explain later, but right now, we have to leave!"

Yahiko took a breath. "Are you saying you second what this man says?"

A tear rolled down Kaoru's cheek. "I am."

Yahiko swore and made to his room. Kaoru's heart felt frozen as she silently begged him to come back.

He came out a few minutes later with a small bag. He shot a glare at Kenshin, than ventured into the bathroom, grabbing some necessary items, and then met his elders in the hall.

"I'm ready," he said, almost sadly.

"So you do not want to die," Kenshin sneered.

Kaoru couldn't help herself. She wrapped her arms around the youth.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I just... didn't want you to die."

Yahiko hugged her back. "Yeah yeah, I get it."

"We have to hurry," Kenshin said urgently, leading them to Kaoru's window.

"Why her window?" Yahiko complained. "It's so small."

Kenshin pushed him towards it. "You first."

Yahiko's temper flared up as he slid the window open. "As you wish, my dear kidnapper."

Just for that comment, Kenshin decided to push him once he got halfway through the window. Yahiko landed hard.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?"

Kenshin smirked and jumped thru the window as though it wasn't there.

"Show off," Yahiko muttered.

Kaoru, who was too grateful that Yahiko was alive to interfere, looked uncertainly at the window. Kenshin held out a hand.

"My lady," he said softly. Yahiko made a gagging noise, to which Kenshin kicked him in the head.

They snuck around the back to the front, where a dark cab with it's lights off was waiting for them.

"What the fuck.." Yahiko whispered. Kenshin pushed him forward.

"Get in."

Once in the cab, Kenshin instructed the others to keep down. Once the car started to move, it seemed to keep on for hours. Kenshin kept full composure the entire time, however Kaoru and Yahiko were too uncomfortable to find sleep, and they were sent into fits of fidgeting. Kenshin, of course, found this behavior unnecessarily irritating.

He touched Kaoru's shoulder. "Are you really that tired?"

"Yeah," Kaoru whispered softly.

Kenshin thought for a second, than pulled Kaoru's head to his lap.

At first, Kaoru's heart rate increased. However, when she began to inhale the tobacco off of his clothes, she began to relax. Yahiko soon recognized Kaoru's lap was available with her head off of it, and he rested his head there. Soon after, both fell into a deep slumber.

When the foster siblings were awakened, it was morning. Kenshin gave the driver a considerable amount of money and led them out of the car. Kaoru gasped.

"Kenshin… where are we?"

They were on a steep dirt road, surrounded by lush forest. It was pretty obvious they were somewhere in the mountains, though Kaoru had no idea where. She looked at Kenshin. He shook his head.

"I can't tell you that. But we still have a ways to go."

Yahiko gave him a look. "I don't see a trail."

"I never said there was one," Kenshin shot back.

Kaoru looked at Kenshin. "Now can you tell me what's going on?"

Yahiko's eyes nearly popped out as he spun to face Kaoru. "You don't know what's going on? What the hell!"

Kenshin ignored his outburst. "We're still being hunted. We need to go, now."

Yahiko's eyes widened. "Hunted by who-"

"We have to go," Kenshin snapped. "Or we can stand here and die."

Kaoru and Yahiko finally got the idea. Kaoru nodded.

"Ok. What do we need to do?"

Something about the way Kenshin smirked looked viciously evil as he silkily said, "Follow me."


End file.
